August 14, 2006

Annual ALL FORD picnic - Champoeg Park

Sunday August 13 - Oregon's 35th annual all Ford picnic at Champoeg State Park. This gathering of Ford enthusiasts is always a lot of fun. No judges and no prizes, just a lot of people getting together in one place to enjoy a picnic and see some great cars. You get to see just about everything ever to roll out of a Ford assembly plant at this gathering - everything from Model T's to a brand new GT40, and everything in between. Of course, you also get to see Mercurys, Edsels and Lincolns too. My favorite was a 67 Cougar convertible. I also got to park next to a real nice 68 Cougar, and there was a real nice 69 Cougar there too. A relative of mine came with his 64 Falcon Convertible, which has been in the family since it was brand new and still looks great in its original paint. Be sure to check out the "All Ford Picnic 2006" photo album on the right!

At the 2012 Rod Run to the End of the World, in Long Beach, Washington, I was noticing all the different hood ornaments on the classic cars. See how many years/makes/models of cars you know, based only on the hood ornament! Or, of course, just enjoy seeing these works of automotive art.

At the Long Beach Rod Run this year, I started noticing all of the unique and interesting shapes and styles of taillights on classic cars, so I decided I would focus in on just that feature of many of the cars, and make an album of nothing but pictures of the back ends (tail lights) of cars. Some are stock tail lights, and some are custom. See if you can name the make, model and year based on only the look of the tail lights!

This is a well run weekly event, that is always well-attended. Probably around 500 great cars there this evening. This was my first trip out with my new wheels and tires. Billy brought his Camaro, and Jamie and Alex came along too. It was a great evening.

Along with Kerry in his 1968 Lemans convertible, and Billy in his 1968 Camaro, (and Dave, Alex, and Jamie too!), the Seaside Muscle Beach Cruise In served as the "coming out" party for the newly restored Cougar.

I was soon the proud owner of this silver 1967 XR7. A factory 4 barrel 289 with 4 speed manual transmission car. My friend Alex chased down the previous owner when he saw it drive by shortly after my crash, because he knew I wanted another Cougar. Thanks Alex!

I bought my first Cougar in June of 1982. On September 11, 1982 a car ran a stop sign, and I hit it at 50+ MPH. My friend Jamie and I escaped with relatively minor injuries. In the crash picture, notice the cracked windshield from my friend Jamie's head on the passenger side. I got to have stitches on the inside of my mouth from my face hitting the steering wheel. That was the end of my first Cougar.

This was a fun little 6 cylinder/powerglide car I bought already partially restored, but mostly disassembled in 1985. I got it painted, reassembled, drove it everywhere (even to Southern California and back), then sold it in 1987. Many great memories of this car.